The Silver Lining
by musicismylife1024
Summary: When Harlow's parents ship her off to Miami to "start a new" after a tragedy, she thinks her life is falling to pieces, that is until she meets the mysterious and handsome Aiden. The 2 are perfect, but one has a secret that could be fatal to the other.
1. Goodbyes

Well, this was officially the end. This is the day that I'd take _any _type of pain or consequence just so I wouldn't have to move. I didn't feel like having to start all over again, finding new friends, and reapplying my social status in a new city. This was the day that my parents were forcing me, against my will, to move with my older sister, Tiffany, on the beaches of Miami. It's that I didn't like the suburbs or anything, it's just that I have a lot of memories that I want to hold on to that are all linked here, good and bad. I'm really going to miss Atlanta and all my friends that I'm leaving behind. When I asked my parents why they were making me leave, they just said, "It's for the best." I automatically knew what they meant.

About three months ago, I was in a serious relationship with an amazing guy named Bryce, who meant the world to me. We'd done everything together and told each other _everything. _Of course nobody gets everything they want without paying a price. The price I had to pay was the only thing I'd ever want, Bryce. I don't really like to go into detail but to keep it short and simple, he was taken from me and from everyone else who loved him, unnecessarily. The night of our Homecoming dance, which was held outside in the school plaza, a car came speeding by and the next thing I heard were gunshots and everybody fell to the floor. Then, there was a stabbing pain in my forearm and ribs, and everything went black. I woke up in a hospital bed two days later with my mother's head on my lap. When I stretched my arms and grunted from the pain, she gasped and looked up with bloodshot red eyes. My mom didn't say anything to me; she just hugged me and bawled like there was no tomorrow. She called my dad up from the cafeteria and he just about did the same. Neither of them would tell me what happened. They also didn't answer my question when I asked them why Bryce wasn't there with me, they only exchanged sad glances.

It wasn't until my dad pulled me by my elbow down the hall, that I knew it was all going downhill. There was a man wearing gloves and a dreary green apron who directed us to the other side of the room where there was a sheet covering something on a metal table. The man gave my dad a warning look as he started pulling the sheet back. My dad tightened his grip on my shoulders as the sheet was pulled back. Bryce was lying there on a table in front of me, still, dead. I sat there sobbing on Bryce's once-warm chest until my dad pulled me back and restrained when I fought back at him. The Doctor explained that the bullet that grazed the left side of my chest, went straight into Bryce's heart, and they couldn't' stop the bleeding in time. My other half was gone forever.

Anyway, the whole reason that my parents are sending me away is because after Bryce died, I went through a sort of "Bella without Edward" in New Moon phase. I was totally lifeless and didn't care about life anymore until one of my friends, Tracey, scared the hell out of me when she started yelling her head off and told me I needed to _wake up. _That kind of gave me a reality check when I realized how much I was hurting those around me by acting so down. I tried to take her advice and plastered a smile to my face and developed a fake laugh, but I guess I didn't fool my parents. So here I am, standing at Gate 12**B, **with my family and friends waiting for my flight to New York. It didn't hit me that I was going to miss my parents so much, my dad especially, but the bright side about the airport was that I was riding first class. When they finally opened the gate, I was emerged in a pool of love. When they finally released me I rushed on the plane without looking back so I wouldn't lose it. As soon as I found my seat, I plopped down, curled my arms around my knees in the seat, turned toward the window, and silently cried myself to sleep.

I woke to the sound of the captain's voice announcing that we were about five minutes from landing. It was around maybe five and the sky looked amazing. It was a deep pink, orange, and purple and the sun was hidden behind a thick dark cloud. I pulled my pink digital camera from my Ed Hardy purse, and snapped a picture; it didn't look as beautiful on the LCD screen. Then the captain came on again with the whole "Thanks for traveling Air Tran" speech. When I finally got off the plane, I saw my sister looking around anxiously. Even when she was confused and anxious, she looked gorgeous. Her thick, dark brown hair hung down to her dark caramel-colored shoulders, she wore a knee-length orange dress with pink heels. Her colors sort of reminded me of the sky. I raised my arm and waved in her direction, which was _very _aggravating, considering the fact that she looked at every other person besides me. When her anxious gray eyes finally met mine, she ran, well at least tried to run, over to me, squealing, and wrapped her long arms around me. When she finally released me, she flashed a perfect white smile at me.

"Kaysha! I'm so glad you're here! We have _a lot_ of catching up to do. I can't wait till you see the house! It has such an incredible view of the beach!" she nearly shrieked. I suddenly became excited, remembering that I was in the countries fashion capital, and as a proud shopaholic was ecstatic about all of the shopping I'd do. This is one of the reasons I love my sister, she makes me happy and washes all my troubles away...for the moment.

"Hey sis! I've missed you too! I'm actually happy to get out of Atlanta. I think I've shopped _every _boutique at Lenox."

"Well, let's get to the baggage claim before Brandon drives off without us. He's already loaded your bags on the truck," she said.

I really loved my sister's boyfriend. He was like the older brother I never had. I actually had a little, no, _huge_ crush on him. If he wasn't dating my sister, a freshman in college, and I wasn't a sophomore, then I'd definitely date him. But then again, there was- I won't let myself think his name.

When we reached the baggage claim, I nearly gasped when I saw Brandon, he was even more beautiful from when I last saw him, which I thought was impossible. His thick, brown, locks came down right above his chocolate brown eyes that were complimented by a wide grin stretched across his perfect face. I wondered if I was drooling or something because Tiffany leaned over and whispered, "Watch it Kaysha, he's mine." So I got a hold of myself and gave him a _friendly _hug and as soon as he released me, he wrapped his arms around Tiffany's waist and sauntered toward the silver Range Rover right outside the doors.

When we pulled off, I pulled out my T-Mobile Shadow and called my parents to let them know I made it in and was quiet for the rest of the car ride. Brandon would occasionally ask me a question, and I'd answer without going into detail. That was something I'd tried to avoid. Detail. During the whole car ride I thought of what I was going to wear to school the next day, as an excuse to prevent myself from thinking of home and my friends and how much I already miss them both. When we pulled in to the neighborhood, I breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't much different from my old neighborhood. Big, quiet, and filled with rich people...boring. But then I realized that this subdivision was backed up to the beach and it looked gorgeous! When we pulled up to the house and Brandon came around and opened both of our doors and grabbed all eight of my bags out of the trunk without breaking a sweat,(God, the things I'd do to date that guy). He carried them up to my room while I sat and talked to Tiffany about how things were at home, school, sports, and of course modeling. I headed to the fridge and pulled out a Starbucks Frappachino and plopped back down in my seat at the bar.

"You know those things are loaded with calories and sugar right?" she asked with a disapproving look. _Why buy them if you're not going to drink them?_ I wondered to myself. Tiffany was always on my case about watching what I eat because of my modeling "career". As a model herself, she eats like a vegan and it bugs the crap out of me. We were both probably on the same level of modeling; 28 fashion shows/year, and 5 magazine fashion ads.

"Fine," I said as I put the bottle back in the fridge and grabbed a Smart Water. I plopped down on the bar stool and took a big gulp.

"So, how've you been, you know, since the accident?" She asks.

"Fine" I say without fidgeting with my water bottle cap.

"That's good, because I don't know what I'd do if Brandon-"

"Look, I don't want to talk about it okay?" I tell her as I hop off the bar stool. "I'm kind of tired so I'm going to bed." I tell her as I walked to the stairs.

"Oh, okay. Goodnight." I could tell that she felt bad, so I threw her a warm smile before climbing up the stairs.

"Night!" I called when I reached the top.

I know my sister isn't the brightest crayon in the box, but I swear that sometimes she doesn't think about the words that come out of her mouth. She knows how much I _hate _talking about Bryce because my mother tried the same thing and ended up having me slam the door in her face after shouting some incredibly harsh words at her. She never talked about Bryce again and she was sure to warn all my friends and family so they wouldn't have to experience the bitch fit that she did. Nobody ever mentions Bryce. That's the way I want it.


	2. New Moon

I nearly gasped when I got to my room! My sister knows my style and the quality that I expect, and she delivered. It was kind of like a French apartment with lots of space, chocolate wood floors, pink walls with black crown molding, and my personal favorite a Juliet Balcony. I dragged my backpack over to my desk and pulled out my Apple Air laptop and clicked on the Internet link. I check my e-mail first. Twelve messages already. They're all from my agent, Theresa, who signed me up for three photo shoots in two weeks in New York. Then there's the regular advertisement mail, AKA spam. Then I checked my Facebook page, only God knows what's bound to be written on my wall. Probably something along the lines of "OMG Harlow! I miss you sooooo much! You have to visit us soon!"

When I pull up my homepage, there's nothing but a bunch of "I miss you already!" and "Call me!" messages, and four friend requests. I quickly accepted the entire friend and invite requests without noting them and shut it down. After I took a shower, I quickly unpacked all of my clothes and stored them in my walk in closet. Exhausted, I chilled on my bed and read Stephanie Meyer's _New Moon _even though I've already read it eight times. Bella's situation kind of reminds me of mine, except I have no Jacob, the hole in my chest_ hasn't_ healed, and _my _Edward isn't coming back. I eventually fell asleep; I knew this because I was standing on the edge of a cliff with dark waves below me, the wind whipping at my face. I took a step closer to the edge, and then another and the next thing I knew, I was flying in the air off the cliff and into the dark depths. To my extreme disappointment, there was no voice or image of Bryce's face, just the dark, cold water.

I woke up in a cold sweat the next morning and felt awful. My stomach was churning from last night's dream and from a sufficient lack of food. I headed to my balcony and opened the doors to find the sun rising over the beach. The view was breathtaking. Reluctantly, I pulled myself away from the light breeze and headed to my closet. It looked like it was going to be a pretty warm day, so I picked a strapless sunshine yellow blouse and my favorite pair of dark denim jeans. I headed to the bathroom and took a shower. When I got out, I looked at my hair and made a face of disgust. It rested on top of my head in a dark brown birds nest. I quickly yanked my brush through it and styled it in a high pony and tied a white ribbon a around it. I grabbed my purse off my desk, slipped my white flip flops on and sprinted down the stairs. When I ran through the kitchen, I found Brandon watching TV from the kitchen bar.

"What's up Harlow?" he asks as he threw his protein shake bottle away, "how was your first night's sleep?"

"It was great." if you enjoy dreaming of falling off a cliff, "Well, I'm going to be late so I'll see you later." I told him as I glance at the clock and walk to the door.

"Hey wait! You forgot something!" He calls after me. There was something in his hand, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"I have to go Brandon! The bus is leaving!" I yell to him as I watch the doors close behind the last person to get on. By the time he reached me, the bus was gone.

"Well Brandon, I hope you're happy. Now you're going to have to drive me to school." I informed him.

Then out of nowhere, he tossed something at me. I caught the flying object, knee-jerk reaction, and was about to yell my head off at him until I realized what it was. In my hand, lay a set of car keys, and not just _any _car keys. They were a set of _Audi keys_. At first I thought it was a joke for two reasons: one, Tiffany and my parents would _never_ buy me an Audi as my first car, and two, there was no car in sight.

"Okay Brandon. This seriously isn't funny. I don't have time to mess around with you. It's my first day of school and I don't want to make a bad impression by being late. NOW LET'S GO!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Then without another word, he grabbed me by the elbow and towed me to the garage. He punched in the code on the outdoor key and the door began to rise. When the door was halfway extended, I gasped because there in front of me was my car, a sleek and pearl white Audi Q7. I dropped my book bag and purse and ran around the car like most teenage girls do. I ran to the driver's side and unlocked the car door and stuck my head in. The interior was obviously custom design; tan leather with white stitching. I hopped in the driver's seat and started the engine. It was like a kitten's purr. I looked around for Brandon but he was already placing my bags in the passenger seat. He walked around to my side and I automatically threw my arms around him and screeched thank you about thirteen times in his ear, then he reminded me what time it was. I pulled my seatbelt across my chest, adjusted my mirrors and backed out of the garage ever so carefully. I gave him one last look and a honk and pulled off to my first day of school, the first day of my new life.


	3. Sandy Springs High

Sandy Palms High School looked more like a resort than a place for learning. I parked my car closest to the building noticing how well my car fit in with all the other luxuries. I pulled in between a white Lexus convertible and a teal Chrysler Pacifica. I grabbed my backpack and purse out the passenger seat and walked toward the school. Obviously I did a good job getting dressed this morning because I heard a whistle or three when I walked past a group of what must've been the Jocks. I made my way to the front office to get my class schedule from the secretary.

The woman behind the desk was maybe in her early 30's and was really pretty. Her blond hair was in a high ponytail on top of her head and she had on a grass green dress and a pink crop sweater. She was on the phone so I didn't speak to her, but she must've known who I was because she handed me my schedule without a word and gave me a friendly smile. I smiled back and turned on my heel and slid out the office. I went to my assigned locker number, which was on top thank goodness, dropped my books off, and hung up some pictures and went to my first class.

I didn't want to look clueless so I kept my head up and casually turned to look at the room number signs on the left or right side of me. I finally reached my first class, English, my best and favorite subject. My new teacher welcomed me as I entered. "Hello. You must be Harlow. I'm Mrs. Frerking your and I'll be your English teacher. If you have any questions or need any assistance don't be afraid to ask, I'm here for you. Did you buy all of your English books for this semester? " She asked flashing me a very pretty smile. Is it me, or all the teachers in this school pretty enough to be Ms. America?

"My sister ordered them for me online. The only one I'm missing is my Antigone book, but it should be here in two days so I'm good for now." I told her.

"That's great. Class is about to start so go ahead and pick any seat. I'm sure you'll fit in just fine here. You're very fashion forward." She said gesturing to my outfit.

"Thank you. I do some modeling so it's required that I always look my best." I tell her as I walk to my desk. I pulled out my binder and labeled it with a pink Sharpie. A couple of minutes later, the bell rang and a group of students flowed through the door (note to self: don't be the very first person in class. It marks you as a social reject). There was a group of guys, most likely the jocks, who came bustling through the door and ran to all the seats surrounding me. The very commonly used phrase _I'm surrounded by idiots_ came to mind. Then a group of four girls walked through the door, their eyes meeting mine. This must be the schools _Pretty Committee_. They all wore short plaid miniskirts and Ralph Lauren polo's with matching stilettos. The girl in front was obviously Spanish with long, caramel-colored hair, the girl behind her was blonde with cerulean blue eyes and had her hair cut into layers, the other was a brunette with cucmber green eyes , and the last girl looked like she was an African princess because of her chocolate skin that resembled mine and her long black hair. The girl in front smiled and walked toward me, of course the rest followed.

"Hey. You must be the new girl. I'm Nadia and these are my friends Wensley, Janey, and Sheena. We were wondering if you'd like to have lunch with us today?" she asked politely.  
"Yeah, that'd be great. Um, when is lunch, by the way?" I asked.

"Oh don't worry. You stick with us and you'll learn your way around here in no time. We eat lunch at noon and it lasts an hour. On Wednesdays, we go out to a restaurant around the nearby mall. Any other day, we eat by the fountain and some of the varsity football and basketball jocks join us on Fridays." She said sitting on the corner of my desk, completely ignoring the extremely cute guy playing with her curls.

"Sure, that sounds great. I'm Harlow by the way."

"Well it was nice talking to you Harlow. We'd sit by you, but all the _airheads_ are swarming you." She said shooing the guy that had his hands wrapped in her hair.

"Okay, I'll see you at lunch." I giggled as she turned and slapped the boy in the face with her locks as she walked away. The others followed, all throwing me a friendly smile. While I waited for class to start, I sent my mom a text telling her about my teacher and soon-to-be friends. It was pretty hard to concentrate with a group of junior guys playing and yelling with each other. Then, the guy sitting in front of me turned around and flashed me a dazzling smile.

"Hey. My name's Jared. I couldn't help, but overhear that you're new?" he asked tilting his head to the side.

"Yup. I just moved here from New York." I told him, smiling back.

"Wow, I can tell from your slight accent. You have a gorgeous smile, by the way." He said with an impish smile.

"Um, thanks."

Was this jock flirting with me? _Already? _ So much for the rumor that guys deeper south were different than those back at home.

"Well, if you need _anything_," he said eyeing me, "just let me know."

"Will do." I told with unhidden sarcasm in my tone. I glared at him for a long moment as he hit his friend's fists who were whooping and clapping. As I got up and walked past him, he tugged on the belt loop of my jeans and winked.  
"Jerks." I muttered. Without looking back at him, I picked up my books and moved to the other side of the class by the door. I picked up my new _Eclipse _book and started reading it.

About three minutes later, the bell rang and I put my book on the floor. When I looked up, I saw the most gorgeous guy I've ever seen standing in the doorway. He was about 6'5, had very tan skin, shaggy brown hair, and perfect muscular arms. The thing that caught my attention was his eyes. They were a deep violet. I thought my gray eyes stood out against my brown skin, but _this _guy made my eyes look normal. He looked so…unique. Our eyes met for a good two seconds which felt like an eternity. Until _he_ walked in, I thought Jared was the sexiest guy in this class. I tried to look away so I wouldn't give him the vibe that I'm a total sketch, but his eyes were mesmerizing. When he finally released my gaze, he walked in through the door and, and to my surprise, he didn't join the air headed jocks, although he surely fit the description: really tall, not Hulk, but a more of a _hunk. _He had on a pair of jeans that fit him _very _well and a blue Abercrombie collared shirt with the sleeves pushed back over a white t-shirt, revealing his amazing forearms. He walked past me, blowing his scent toward me. It was sweet and mesmerizing. I had to look down to check if I was drooling. He sat one seat behind me, two rows over. I tried to conceal that fact that I was trying to look back at him with my compact mirror by applying more mascara. I caught a glance of him and he was looking right back. _Ooh, way to get caught loser, _I thought to myself. The thing that surprised me the most, was the look on his face. It kind of reminded me of Bella's first day in biology with Edward (Forgive me for applying all of my problematic situations to the ones of Twilight). It was a look of hostility, aggravation, and…sadness. I quickly shut my mirror and faced forward.

When the late bell rang, Mrs. Frerking called the class to order, the airheads slouched down in their seats, my new clique girls each popped an Icebreaker Sour in their mouth and crossed their legs to the side of their desks in a creepy synchronization, and a small group of about six what I call Average Joes pulled out their books all too eagerly. I leaned back in my desk and folded my arms across my chest and crossed my legs. I didn't turn around for the rest of the class period and my new mystery crush didn't talk to me once.


	4. Party Every Day, PPPParty Every Day

The rest of the day was pretty laid back. All of my teachers were young and spunky. Palm Springs was very diverse compared to my old school. I was surprised to find out that I wasn't the only black girl at my new school. When lunch finally came around, Nadia who was in my math class, walked with me to the cafeteria. On the way, I mentioned the guy in our English class and I automatically knew I wasn't the first girl to ask about him. A wide grin stretched across her face.

"His name's Aiden. He's probably _the _hottest guy you'll ever see here or anywhere really. The only negative thing is that he's really quiet and picky when it comes to girls. He, his brother and sister are all that way. It must be genetic. The personality and the looks, I mean. They're all inhumanly gorgeous, but none of them date just _anybody_. I think Aiden's dated one girl since he first moved here, but she moved away or something. Some of the jocks are convinced he's gay. But there's _no way_ he can be gay. I mean, _look_ at him." She stared in his direction. He was sitting with his relatives at a table next to a colorful small garden. They all looked like they could be twins. His sister and brother had the same chocolate hair and deeply tanned skin. I couldn't tell from the distance, but I'd bet money that they all have the same violet colored eyes as Aiden. We continued to walk to the table by the fountain, away from Aiden.

The girls kept me partially distracted with question that required more than a yes or no. But, the other part of me was intrigued by Aiden. I don't know what it was, but there was something different about him. All day, guys have been staring at me but I didn't get a single look from Aiden(unless that really sketchy mirror look counted). When the girls finally stopped questioning me, I was free. Unthinkingly, I turned in the opposite direction and found Aiden and just stared in amazement. He was absolutely gorgeous, especially in the sun. His brown hair looked golden and the sun made his skin glow. I'd been staring at him for about 10 seconds, and then he turned around. His violet eyes glittered in the sun and his hair was windblown from the afternoon breeze. He was looking straight back at me. I wanted so bad to look away and avoid _another _awkward encounter, but his eyes held mine and had no intentions of looking away any time soon.  
"Harlow? Hello! Harlow, what are you looking at?" asked Harlow impatiently.

As soon as she said that, Aiden looked me from my waist up and then turned away with a huge look of distress spread across his face.

"Nothing." I muttered, looking away.

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly and every now and then a jock or cheerleader would mention a "Pre-Homecoming" party happening Wednesday.

"You should totally be there. It'll be a great chance to meet some guys around here." Wensley told me.

"Please go Harlow! I need your help to pick out a guy to keep until the Summer Slam." Whined Sheena.

"The summer what?" I squinted my eyes in confusion.

"The Summer Slam! It's known as the pre-prom dance at the beach, and you'll need a date anyway, so you might as well come." Clued Nadia.

"Please, please, pretty pretty please?" whined Janey.

"Okay, okay. I guess I'll go." I sighed in defeat.

We all met at Harlow's country club estate after school and got ready for the party there. I picked up a strapless emerald green dress from BCBG Girls that fit in all the right places

and bought a pair of three inch silver stilettos. I let Nadia straighten my hair and Wensley paint my nails silver. We all struggled to work on Sheena, whose hair was as frizzy as it could

get. I finally managed to put her hair up in curlers and sat her under the dryer, while Nadia painted her toes to match her short plum dress that went perfect against her chocolate skin.

Wensley wore a short black dress that made her boobs look great (now known as "The Boob Dress"), and flowed down to her knees loosely, her strawberry blonde hair hand down to

the middle of her back, black pumps, and she had diamond studs in her ears. Nadia looked like an exotic goddess as she walked out of the closet. Her fitted dress was crème and had a

black bow tied around the waist with black stilettos, and her dark locks hung down in tresses below her shoulders. Janey worked a yellow and green strapless that brought out her

spray-tanned skin with green pumps. Sheena turned out to look _gorgeous _with her dress, sliver accents and her drop curls that hung just below her shoulders.

We all had Wensley's mom, Mrs. McGuire, take pictures on all of our cameras before we all huddled into my truck. We pulled out of the driveway blasting the Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta

Feelin'".

We pulled in a spot behind about ten other cars down the street from the huge white stucco estate with a huge yard. The house was blasting music from the backyard and

played through speakers all through the house. The rooms were full of juniors and seniors from my school and others and a bunch of them greeted me even though I had no idea who

they were. We made our way to the backyard where there was a table covered in beers, wine coolers, chips, and other finger foods.

Nadia wandered off with some huge jock in a football jersey, Wensley was flirting with some hot skater guy, Sheena was talking to a bunch of guys in a group, and Janey was

chatting with some guy who was in our math class. So great, they drag me to this party and all find guys. _Never again, _I thought to myself. Just as I was about to start moping, I felt two

hands on my waist and jumped back, only to find a grinning Jared. A grinning, sexy, gorgeous, _single_, Jared.

"Jeesh! You scared me!" I complained.

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't ignore how amazing you look in that dress." He said, running his eyes over my legs, and overly exposed C-cups.

"I try. You don't clean up too bad yourself." I smiled.

He had on a navy collard shirt with a white tee underneath and a pair of True Religion Jeans and his golden hair was tousled to perfection.

"Thanks. Can I get you a drink?" he asked leading me to the beverage table.

"Sure." I smiled.

Jared and I walked and talked for about a good hour. He asked me questions about my old school, sports, hobbies, and of course boyfriends. I strayed away from the subject and flipped

the question on him. Of course Jared had _a lot _of girlfriends, played baseball and football, and told me he wanted to go to Yale for college.

"You know, you're a lot different when you're alone with me than you're with your friends. Why?" I questioned.

"I guess I try to impress them because they all sort of look up to me." He explained.

"Honestly, I think you're afraid of being yourself." I said, staring into his dreamy gray eyes.

"Maybe I am." He admitted as he leaned in closer to my lips.

"Maybe you should change that." I replied.

"Maybe you could help me." He continued inching forward.

"Maybe." I agreed just before his lips touched mine. Although it was a simple kiss, it had about fifteen other people staring. Jared rolled his eyes, took my hand and led me into the house,

through the living room full of drunk partiers, and into a huge bedroom that was different shades of brown. He led me to the bed and hovered above me, "Now, where were we?" he

asked with a flirtatious smile snaking across his lips.

"I think I know." I smiled as I pulled him down by his collar to meet his lips with mine. Jared was an amazing kisser and knew how and where to moved his hands. I leaned back against

the headboard and pulled him back down to me. He traced my knee with his hand, curved it to the back of it and hitched my leg around his waist, causing my already short dress to rise

up even higher. I let him poked his tongue through my lips and tried to battle with his but eventually gave up. I thought that this was probably the most perfect moment, until I noticed

Jared fishing around in his pocket finally pulling out a small, square, golden package. A condom. I pushed him back quickly and sat up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I yelled at him.

"Aw come on baby. You know you want to." He smiled leaning back down to me forcing his lips to mine. I shoved him off me again, this time hard enough to make him topple to the floor.

"THE HELL I DO! Don't ever, _ever _come near me again you asshole!" I yelled in his face before storming out the room. I didn't notice he was right behind me until I felt his fingers on my

shoulder, "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, with a hungry look in his eyes.

"Get off Jared!" I yelled, but his grip only tightened. "Stop it Jared, you're hurting me! Get the hell off!" I cried as I pulled away from his grip. The surrounding people were either too drunk

or busy grinding to notice us. People around here are some _dumb-asses._

"I don't think so." He growled low in my ear, pulling me back to the room.

_Oh shit! I'm done for!_ I thought to myself. Just as my fingers were about to slip of the door frame, a tan hand gripped Jared's arm tightly,

"She said let go." Aiden growled through clenched teeth. I didn't even know he was at the party.

"Or what Gershum?" Jared smiled, then let go of my arm and sent his fist straight to Aiden's jaw. Luckily, Aiden ducked out of the way and swung his fist around and hit Jared square in

the jaw.

"Stop it!" I yelled, tears streaming down my face.

He stumbled a little, but was no wimp. Jared swung again and hit Aiden in the gut this time. Aiden winced but continued to throw punches and dodge as many as he could while Jared took most of the heat. The fight had gathered a large crown to flow in the big room, causing Nadia and the rest of the girls to come up next to me.

"Harlow what's going on?" Nadia asked frantically.

I couldn't answer, I was dumbfounded by how quickly the intensity of the fight was becoming. Somebody was going to get hurt. I kept my eyes on Aiden, promising that if Jared a so much

put a scar on that perfect face, he would surely pay for it. Just then, Aiden met my eyes for a quick second and held his gaze there until Jared came swinging full throttle.

"Harlow, let's go!" Wensley yelled, pulling on my arm.

I stumbled backward and followed the rest of the girls out the door, to my car. When we all loaded up in my truck again, we pulled off and I immediately dropped them off at Wensley's

house, declining the invitation to stay.

"Harlow, you're sure your alright?" Nadia asked for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah girl, I'll be fine." I lied.

Before I drove off, Nadia turned around and mouthed the words text me and walked to the house.

I sped home fighting tears the whole way and pulled into the garage and ran to my room, flopped on my bed and cried into my pillow. What had intended to be a fun filled night, turned

out to be the perfect disaster and it was all my fault.


	5. A Walk to Remember

Thursday was practically worse than I thought it'd be. I got all types of stares from everybody. Nadia, Sheena, Wensley, and Janey were always with me, but I still felt more alone than ever. In English class, Jared, who had a black eye, kept throwing me glares and secretive smiles that said _I'll get you next time._ Aiden, on the other hand, didn't even show up to school.

As soon as the day was over on Thursday Wensley, Janey, Sheena, and Nadia walked me to my truck chatting the whole way.  
"So Harlow, we're going to go to the movies on tomorrow to see The Proposal. You wanna come? It'll be a lot of fun and some of the _smarter _jocks will be there." Nadia said in a keyed up voice.  
"Um. It depends. I have a lot of catching up to do on work and my agent is driving me crazy with all these photo shoots, but I'll see what I've got planned and let you know. Here, put your number in so I can text you." I said handing my enVy 3 to Wensley.

"So, when you say some of the smarter jocks, who does that include?" I asked innocently, careful not to make eye contact.

"Aiden's not going Harlow." Answered Sheena in a you-should-already-know tone.

"Who said anything about Aiden? I was asking about that jerk-of-a-jock Jared. If he's going, I'm out. I don't want to end up getting raped in a movie theatre." I said and we all broke out in laughter.

On the way home, I kept replaying Tuesday's lunch scene in my head. The way Aiden looked at me; it sent so many questions flying through my mind, and then the way he seemed to be at the right place at the right time. Why did he look at me the way he did? When I pulled into the driveway, it was sundown and there were no cars in the driveway. I parked my truck in the garage and grabbed my bags from the passenger seat.

"Hello?" I called out as I stepped into the kitchen. No response. _Tiffany and Brandon are probably still at the office_, I thought. I went upstairs to my room and dropped my books down next to my desk. I flopped on my bed and pulled out my cell and dialed my mom. Her questions were the same as every mother's; so, how's your first week been? Did you make any friends? How about the boys? I told her all the details, excluding Aiden and Jared, and mentioned that I loved Florida which was a bold-faced lie. When I finally answered all of her oh-so long questions, I walked out to my balcony and leaned against the railing.

_This _is the only reason I love Florida, the weather. There was a little bit of pink left in the sky, but the rest was a deep dark blue covered by thick, dark clouds. It looked like a storm was rolling in. So much for my perfect weather. I'd better enjoy the last of today's beauty while I still can. Who knew when it'd be back? I slipped on a white cotton dress and headed down to the kitchen. I wrote Brandon and Tiffany a note telling them where I was, stuck it to the fridge and headed out the back door, past the pool and onto the powder white sand of the beach.

There was no sound outside except for the crashing of the waves. While I was walking, I spent most of my time thinking and imagining. Thinking about Bryce, something I'd promised myself never to do, and then imagining what my life would be like if he was still alive. If Bryce was still alive, we'd be at home right now cuddled with him on his couch, watching a movie and throwing popcorn at each other. And then out of nowhere, I was thinking about Aiden and imagining myself with _him._ I know it seems abnormal to spend a whole day thinking about a guy that I haven't even spoken to, but there's something about him that just draws me to him. I want so much to get to know him and tell him my deepest darkest secrets.

I stopped and looked out to the water. The waves were pitch black but the moon above was a bright white and reflected beautifully against the water. I looked further down the beach and saw a tall figure walking to the water. The smart thing to do now would be to walk away, but I kept walking. I kept telling myself to turn around, but there was some sort of force drawing me toward the figure now in the ocean.


	6. Deja Vu

As I finally got closer, I looked up and there he was. Aiden was faced away from me waist-deep in the water. Shirtless. I let out a little gasp. I guess he heard it, although I have no idea how, because he turned around and stared me up and down. To my surprise, he actually smiled. I smiled back, what else was I supposed to do? Then, he walked toward me. _What is he doing?_ I wondered. I took a step forward and he met me the rest of the way. He was still smiling and it was blindingly beautiful.

"Hey, you're in my English class right?" he asked.

"Um, yeah." was all I could say.

"Well, I don't believe we've been properly introduced have we? I'm Aiden and you are?" he asked cocking his head to the side.

"Oh, I'm Harlow." I said tearing my eyes from their course up and down his bare chest. He had an _amazing _body; a _very _defined six pack, chest, and my favorite, crotch bones. Yeah, yum.

"Well it's nice to officially meet you Harlow." He said extending his hand toward me. The way his warm touch made me feel was annoying, frightening, and blissful.

I've shaken hands with celebrities and important agents before and didn't catch even one goose bump. But this guy, made them spread my arm faster than fire across a dry forest. The thing that caught me off guard was when he raised my hand to his lips and planted a light kiss on the back of my palm. For a moment my hand lay in his, as we gazed at each other. It felt like an eternity before he let my hand drop and relaxed his gaze.

"So what are you doing all alone on my beach?" he asked.

"_Your _beach? Since when did this become your beach?" I asked aggravated.

"My family owns this part of the beach. From those palm trees down there," he said pointing at least 1 mile in his direction, "to the other house way down there." He said his lips twitching, fighting a smile.

"Oh. Well, I didn't know this was your beach. I'll see you later." I said turning away from him reluctantly yet annoyed.

"Wait, I didn't mean you had to leave. I was just wondering what you were doing all alone." He said his violet eyes softening. I noticed that they had silver flecks in them with that the moon brought out.

"I could ask you the same thing." I said smiling softly.  
He just continued to stare at me.

He finally spoke, "Let's take a walk. I want to get to know you. You seem so much more different than the rest of the girls at our school."

"How so? We've just met." I asked utterly curious.

"I don't know. It looks like you've been through something life changing. You always seem so happy, but I can see that you're hiding some sort of pain inside. That beautiful smile of yours is a camouflage." He said lifting my chin up, "Tell me." He said his violet eyes burning with an intensity I couldn't resist.

I had to be dreaming. This guy that I saw the first day of school, who wouldn't even glance at me for the whole first week, is trying to get me to pour my heart and soul out. It was working.

"Fine," I sighed in defeat. I told him the whole story about Bryce and Atlanta as we walked along the beach and it surprised me how intrigued he was.

He didn't interrupt once. When I finished the whole story, I realized I was crying. I tried to stop the tears, but they kept coming one after the other like the traitors they were. I hate when people see me cry. A few seconds later, he gently pulled my elbow and stopped me from walking further. He turned to face me and wiped the tears from my eyes with his fingers.

"There's no reason to cry Harlow. What happened that night, there was nothing you could do about it. It pains me to see you fighting so hard to make everyone else around you happy even though you're hurting yourself." He said holding my face in his hands. "You're unhappy and don't deny it Harlow. I understand that Bryce meant a lot to you, but you have to let go and move on. Those may not be the words you want to hear, but trust me, it's the right thing to do. You deserve better than this pain, you need someone who'll be there to catch you when you fall." He continued gazing in my eyes, not allowing me to look away.

He couldn't have thought of these words himself. Even more perfect than he already was. It made him too…perfect. I'd heard these words a million times before, but never with so much intensity, and it felt absolutely amazing when _he _said them. Right at that moment, I knew I wouldn't leave him alone. I couldn't.

"And are _you _willing to be that someone?" I ask inching my face closer to his.

"I'm all _too _willing, Harlow." He said leaning closer to my face and then pressed his warm soft lips to mine. His hands were at my waist as he pulled me closer against his bare chest.

I slid my hands from his chest to his face, memorizing every plane of its smooth surface. He moved his hands from my waist to my burning cheeks and then down the sides of my neck to my arms. He paused at my hands and stopped, touched his lips to mine two more times and, all too soon, leaned away. He pulled his right hand up to my face and I rested it in my palm.

"You don't know how long I've waited for you, Harlow." He murmured. I felt my heart jump to the sound of _those_ words.

I looked up at him and his violet eyes stared back. Unable to speak, or think, I turned my face to the inside of his palm and kissed it, and leaned my head on his chest. We stood there for God knows how long and I loved it. Then, when everything around me was perfect for once in a long time, images of my prom night from hell flashed through my head but not like it usually had before. This time, it was more like a movie flashback that I was _watching_. It made no sense.

There was screaming all around me, people running and ducking, and then there was Bryce, just how I remembered him. His green eyes seemed to pierce right through me against his chocolate-caramel skin. He was holding me behind his back around the waist and murmured something frantically in his best friend, Tristan's ear. Then, three gunshots were fired and I fell over and dropped to my knees, blood gushing out of my waist. Then, another gunshot was fired and Bryce's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell to his knees, beside me. As I watched this I instinctively grabbed the shirt covering my waist, where I felt the scarred skin. I tried running over to him, but it seemed the more I moved, the further I was from him. Then I gave up and dropped to my knees, gasping for air.

"Harlow!" a familiar voice yelled.

"Harlow!" he yelled again.

"Bryce?" I whispered in the chaos. "Bryce, where are you?" I shrieked.

Then, with a start, I was staring back at Aiden's violet eyes. They were full of worry and apology. I fell to my knees and realized I was shaking. He was next to me immediately. He took me in his arms and rocked me back in forth in his arms.

"I'm so sorry Harlow." He said in my ear.

"I'm sorry." He murmured again as he kept rocking.

_For what? _ I wanted to ask him. But the words wouldn't come out. They couldn't. I looked at his face and his eyes were closed shut now. Then a sharp pain went shooting through my head like a migraine. It hurt so much that I let out a high screech. Aiden was still rocking me and pulled me closer to him and kissed my forehead over and over again. The pain only lasted a few short seconds, but it was enough pain for a lifetime. When it was over, I was gasping and still shaking in Aiden's arms. Then, everything went black. I don't know how much time passed, but I finally felt recovered and flickered my eyes open. Aiden was gazing out towards the ocean, his expression pained and ashamed. It looked like he was in a trance. I shifted in his arms and tried to sit up. Everything went spinning again and I fell back against his chest.  
"Whoa. Head rush." I whined.

I felt like a total wimp and embarrassed. What had just happened? Was it a panic attack or was I just losing my mind? Why was Aiden apologizing for it?

Slowly this time, I sat up and looked at Aiden. His gaze was still locked on the ocean, like he was in some kind of trance.  
"Aiden," I whispered, "what's wrong?" his eyes met mine and they were still pained.

"Harlow, I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean to." he whispered.  
"Sorry for what Aiden? You didn't have anything to do with that, I just went too far when I was thinking about Bryce, that's all. I think it was just a panic attack. It wasn't your fault." I told him. Anger flitted across his face for a short moment.

"But it is Harlow. The reason you were in pain was all my fault. I should've controlled myself. I was stupid to even think about it." He said lowering his head in his hands and shaking it.

"Um, Aiden. What are you talking about?" I asked him. Gees, this guy knew how to make me feel like a total idiot. He let out a sigh of frustration and tilted his head back against the rock we were leaning on.

"I should've told you this _before _I made you spill your guts out to me. When, you told me about what happened to you, I couldn't help but feel extreme anger overcome me, and since I was touching you, all the anger and pain I wanted to use on whoever it was that did that to you, was sent from my body to yours." He said with total seriousness spread across his face. I'm pretty sure I wore a dumbfounded expression on my face because he sighed again.

"Sorry if I'm frustrating you, but it would be _extremely _helpful if you could just dumb that down for me." I said wearing the same facial expression as his. With a small smile he relaxed his tensed body and ran his fingers from the top of my hair to my back and started again.

"Do you promise not to freak out if I tell you, not that I actually have a choice?" he asked cocking his head to the side.

"I promise." I replied eagerly.

"Well, my family and I have lived here for many years, and when I say many, I mean _many. _We moved here from Rio de Janiero in 1952." He paused looking for any change in expression and boy did he find it. My eyes popped open at the last number: 1952. That couldn't be possible!

"But you're only 17 aren't you?" I asked my voice raising two octaves.

"Yes, been so, but me and my family are…different. My two sisters were born in 1934, my brother was born in 1935 and I was born in 1936 on the coasts of Rio. When the year 1953 came around, disaster struck. A deadly plague was among us and wiped out more than half of our community. Some of the townsfolk gossiped about it being the act of witchcraft and others went on about spotting dark shadows in the forest nearby our homes. All of the teens called it The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Of course, all of the people sought the advice of the church. Reverend Montague, the pastor, preached many stories, saying that all of the trouble was coming from bodiless spirits and sent warnings against improper burials amongst the people. My father was somewhat of a medical student, so he was doing all he could to find out what was causing the plague and also tried to find a way to prevent anymore deaths, but ran out of time. About four days after he started researching, four women and men were dead and six teenage girls were missing. Two days later, they found the teenage girls in the middle of the forest, but one was missing and the others were dead. All of them were found with bloody necks." He continued.

"One night, when my parents went to a town meeting at the church concerning the deaths, my oldest sister, Wensley, found out that her fiancée had gone missing. She immediately ran out into the woods looking for him. My other sister, Samantha, tried to convince her he was alright but was unsuccessful. I tried running after her, but Samantha told me that she just needed some time alone. But, that didn't slide with my parents. They went running in the woods after her shouting her name. Sam and I stood there listening as their voices faded away as they ran deeper into the forest. We never saw our parents or Wensley again. With that tragedy, Samantha and I left our town and hiked up north without any food or money. So eventually we became _very _ sick and weak. We were dying." I could feel my eyes watering as I took in the image of Aiden and his sister's life slipping away from them.

"So how did you and your sister become-"

"Vampires?"

"Yeah."

He glanced at my face and began again, "Well, when Sam and I were on our last leg, a teenager named Gregory found us. He noticed how we were basically already dead and told us both that he would make all the pain go away. He was the one that changed us and took us home to his parents and his other sister and brother, Casey and April. They took us in and raised us as their own. We've been with them ever since then and we're like a real family besides the fact that Samantha and Gregory are completely in love." He looked at me with burning passion in his eyes when he said the words completely in love. I was completely blown away. Things like this can't happen. Not in reality. It didn't make any sense.  
"So what are you telling me Aiden? That you're not _human_?" I asked intrigued.

"Something like that." He said with a faint smile, "Soraya told us that her ancestors called our kind the Stregoni Benefici." He looked me in the eyes for any sign of reaction.

"Wow. T!" I beamed. I mean sure it was a lot to take in, but it was amazing knowing that fairytale things do exist. Hmm, I wonder if Edward Cullen and other vampires are real.

"Wait, what? Harlow, there's nothing cool about being an immortal monster. Sure, being superhuman has its perks, but there are so many things that I _don't _enjoy about being a Vampire." He told me.  
"Like what?"

"Like finding…self control." he said looking me in the eyes again.

"What do you mean?" I asked eagerly.

"It's getting late Harlow. I should get you home before your sister gets too worried." He said standing up pulling me with him.  
"Crap! I totally forgot about that! It's gonna take me for ever to get back to my house." I said scrambling for my flip flops.

"Relax Harlow. I can give you a ride. It'll take no time." He said with a sly smile on his beautiful face. It was breathtaking.


End file.
